1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to tank vessels, and more specifically to an improved method and apparatus for oil spill recovery by such vessels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large oil spills can originate from many sources; grounded tankers, sunken tankers, oil rigs, oil well caps, underwater pipelines, leaking ground fissures, shore tank failures, and the like. Unfortunately, the present methods of oil spill recovery have many limitations. They evolved on the premise of limited pump capacity and limited storage capacity of oil spill recovery vessels, and hence yield a limited recovery rate. The equipment presently used attempts to separate the oil from the water prior to being pumped to the storage spaces aboard recovery vessels. The methods presently used require separating debris from the oil prior to transferring to the storage tanks because the pumps used are not capable of moving large quantities of solid material. Additionally, the present technology typically has a maximum operating sea condition of sea state 3 (relatively calm waters).
These present techniques were designed primarily to handle the numerous small spills that occur each year. But they are woefully inadequate to cope with the aftermath of a major spill (e.g., 100,000+ gallons). This was recently evidenced in U.S. waters by the sequence of events following the grounding and oil spill of the "Exxon Valdez", and major refinery spills in the waters of Mississippi and Arthur Kill rivers.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a device that can quickly recover large quantities of oil in the water, be easily deployed and is environmentally safe.
A further object of this invention is to provide an oil spill recovery device that is cost effective and available in all corners of the globe.
A further object of this invention is to provide an acceptable method of disposal of oil collected from oil spills or other marine casualties.
A further object of this invention is to provide a method to extract oil from tank vessels which have become disabled due to casualties which render the vessel's engine room incapable of supplying power to the pumps.